A/N: Updating took longer than expected, but the simple truth of the matter is, I've been dog-tired recently and have had to do some serious re-working regarding the direction of this fic.
Chapter 33 A Surprising Guest
The weeks and months passed by almost in a blink of an eye, the mundanity of their semester allowing Severus, Lily and their friends to settle into somewhat of a groove. The first two weeks of the semester were indeed a sign of things to come as their professors mercifully kept their workload light. As such, they were able to devote more time to their studies in preparation for their exams, and to enjoying their free time among friends. Of course, Severus still had his individual assignments from Esmerelda, and Lily still had her prefectural duties to manage but compared to the prior semester, they found their schedules were a lot less hectic. With the weather warming rapidly, Severus, Lily and their friends chose to spend more and more of their free time out on the grounds, specifically, by the Quidditch field where the group would gather to study and watch Thomas' flying exploits. All in all, their Spring semester had started off far more enjoyably than their Fall one; though in the back of their minds, the prospect of sitting for their OWLs always lingered.
On a cool, late February afternoon, Lily and Severus were out on the grounds by the Snakewood tree getting some work done on a few of their assignments. They had a free period on their timetables on Thursdays after lunch; so, the two of them often used it as an opportunity to get ahead on their work so their weekends were a little less hectic. Lily was sprawled on her front on the grass, writing away in her notebook for her Transfiguration assignment; while Severus was a short distance away, his back against the trunk of the tree as he worked on his Ancient Runes. Their usual group of friends, save for Caroline who was meeting up with her girlfriend currently, were all in class, leaving Severus and Lily off by themselves out on the grounds. Later that afternoon, they planned on heading to the Quidditch field to meet up with Nicole, Sandra and Tommy as the latter had his flying practice; but for now, they were content to laze away the afternoon under the shade of the tree. They'd come directly from the Owlery, from which they'd sent off a pair of letters to be delivered to Lily's parents, as well as a letter to Petunia in which they congratulated her on moving out.
"You almost done there Sev?" Lily asked, peering over at Severus' parchment.
Severus, who had been in the middle of writing a sentence, lifted his quill from the parchment and tapped it on the inner ring of his ink-pot. "Nearly," he said, without looking up. "What's the matter?"
"I wanna ask you something."
"School related or something else?"
"Something else," Lily said, the eagerness in her voice noticeable.
Severus sighed, then raked a palm over his face. "Give me ten minutes and I'll be finished. I take it you are?" He finally looked at her.
"Another five," Lily replied, grinning, before returning her attention to her notebook.
Severus nodded absently and dipped his quill in the ink-pot, returning to his work.
Ten minutes passed and not a moment too soon, Severus was done. He cast a drying charm on the parchment, drying up all the freshly-applied ink, then rolled it up and placed it in his backpack. All the while, Lily watched him eagerly, having finished her own work five minutes ago and waiting the past five minutes patiently for Severus to do the same.
"What do you want to talk about?" he asked, breaking the silence between them.
"It's about Petunia," Lily said quickly.
Severus sighed, dragging a palm over his tired face. "Really?" he asked witheringly. "What do you want to talk about Petunia for?"
"She is my sister Sev, and it's something important regardless," Lily retorted hotly. "I—she's gonna be moving out, has moved out I should say, you know this."
"And?" Severus asked, his withering note deepening.
"And I think that we should do something for her, you know, considering all that's going on, no?"
"And what would you suggest we do, huh? Give her a nice vase, perhaps? Some other sort of housewarming gift?"
Lily's eyes had narrowed into a bona fide glare at this point. "Stop being such an arsehole and just listen to me," she growled. "I'm not talking about a bloody housewarming gift Severus, I mean something to protect her, to keep her safe in spite of all that's…you know, going on at home."
"And what would you suggest for that then, hm?" he asked dryly.
"Enchantments, protections, that sort of thing," Lily elaborated. "I think we should research them, we're both not half-bad at charms, so there's a start, and if we can research these enchantments, perhaps you can cast them when we're back home next year over the Winter break, when you've become of age."
"Is that why you want to rope me into this?" Severus asked with narrowed eyes. "Because I'll be of age in time to cast them over the break, and you won't be?"
"That is precisely why I'm asking you," Lily retorted, not even bothering to refute his claim. "That, and I trust you, I know you'd be aware of what you're doing, Sev. Other than my own charm-work, I can hardly think of anyone better than you."
"Flattery won't get you anywhere," Severus said dryly. "Also, I do think that Carrie is better than I am at Charms, so don't discount her."
Lily huffed a sigh and sat up a little more upright. "Fine, but they won't be in England, Sev, you and I will be. And last I checked, Carrie's birthday is only in July. So out of all the people I know, you're the best shot I've got at helping to keep my family safe…and being of age come Winter in order to use your magic."
"And what would you suggest we do?" he asked sharply.
"That for now…whenever we have the time, we do some research, that's all," Lily said, breathing a sigh of relief that Severus was at least listening to her. "I know my…that my father is a veteran, has fought and all that, but I still worry about them Sev, mum and Petunia especially."
"So, you think researching protective enchantments, and using them, will help protect them," Severus observed, his tone not unkind.
Lily nodded. "Can you help with it?"
Severus opened his lips, then closed them, taking a few moments to gather his thoughts and to express them in precisely the way he wanted to. "If and when I have free time, I suppose I can help you," he acquiesced.
Lily's reaction was instantaneous, her smile broadening and her arms winding around him as she hugged him; unending words of thanks spilling past her lips as she voiced her appreciation for his willingness to help her. They pulled away a moment later, and from her pensive expression Severus could tell that Lily had something else on her mind, something she wanted to tell him but was hesitant about.
"Is there something else, Lily?" he prompted, his tone earnest and coaxing.
Severus eyed him fretfully, but didn't deny his question. "I—yes, there is," she said hesitantly. "I spoke with…with Professor Lambert today, after class when you'd gone off for your Ancient Runes session, we—um, we had a little discussion."
"About what?"
Lily breathed a deep sigh, then tentatively met Severus' gaze with her own. "I informed her that I won't be applying to…to anymore programs here. I've um—I've heard back from my parents that two programs back home…have all but accepted me, pending my OWL results, so I want you to know that—"
"—you certainly won't be here, after we graduate," Severus finished for her.
"Yes. Yes, that's essentially—that's it," she whispered. "It's final…is what I'm essentially saying."
"So, we'll be apart for a year then, possibly more, that's not the end of the world," Severus said with a shrug.
Somehow, Severus' cavalier reaction seemed to anger Lily, as she reared back from him in the blink of an eye as if she'd been struck. "That's it? That's…that's all you have to say?"
Severus met her harsh gaze with a withering look of his own. "I have no intention of…two-timing you, Lily, and I would hope that you agree to do the same," he muttered lowly. "You don't intend to quit on our relationship during the time we're apart, no? Well neither do I. Being apart for a year or two is hardly the worst thing in the grand scheme of things Lily, so why be upset about it?"
Lily stiffened some more, her glare sharpening. "Why is it that you hardly seemed miffed about it in the least, then?"
Severus returned Lily's heated look coolly. "Because I've come to terms quite some time ago that you and I will be going our separate ways for a little while in the near future," he said softly, slowly. "It's something I know will occur, and I've accepted it, so I no longer feel anger or upset when I'm reminded of the fact that you and I won't be together, for a year or more, perhaps. Absence makes the heart grow fonder after all…so I'm sure that when we reunite, it'll be a cause for celebration won't it?"
Each of Severus' words resonated with Lily, since with each passing syllable, Lily's harsh look fractured more and more, until by the end of it, she was smiling as wide as a banshee. She moved to hug him again, and Severus was quick to return her affection.
"I'm sorry," she muttered against his shoulder, the fabric enveloping her words. "I…I just…you seemed so calm and collected about it, I thought it was apathy, that you didn't care that we'd be apart, Sev. It's my fault for misreading you."
"I just don't wear my emotions as much on my sleeve as you do," Severus chuckled, Lily laughing as well. He pulled away from her then, Lily doing the same and folding her arms over her midsection. "I was upset about it, but at the same time…I'm equally responsible as you are for our separation, I chose to pursue a career here after all, didn't I?"
Lily nodded slowly. "You did."
Severus only deigned her with a little smile and a shrug, which Lily understood perfectly clearly. Soon, they'd packed up their things and were heading over to the Quidditch field where Sandra, Tommy and Nicole would be arriving soon. Checking his watch, Severus noted that they should've just gotten out of class and that if they were being punctual, they'd be making their way towards the Quidditch field at that precise moment. Sure enough, they spotted the familiar outline of their friends further ahead of them along the beaten path leading to the field. Thomas' afro, Sandra's tall and lanky form, and Nicole's bright orange hair stood out quite clearly to them. They spotted Tommy splitting away from them as he headed towards the field with his racing broom propped on his shoulder. Approaching the edge of the field, Lily and Severus witnessed their friend mount the broom, gripping it tightly and leaping off the ground with an almighty kick. He was airborne and circling about through the air in seconds, spotting the approaching Severus and Lily swiftly, giving them a wave. Lily and Severus waved back before making their way into the grandstands where Nicole and Sandra were waiting for them.
"You're here a bit early!" Lily called out, gaining Nicole and Sandra's attention as she and Severus walked over.
"Got out of class earlier than expected," Nicole reasoned, smiling back at them. "How are you two?"
"We're doing fine, just about finished with all of our assignments for the week," Severus replied, his smirk widened just a little bit as he spotted the jealous looks on Nicole and Sandra's faces.
He and Lily sat down next to their friends and propped their bags in their laps. Nicole already had her pair of binoculars out and hung around her neck as Thomas soared around the opposite end of the field with the other Horned Serpent racers. Lily eyed it longingly before turning to Sandra.
"I presume that Scott's still at dueling club and Caroline's still off god knows where with Geraldine?"
Geraldine, Caroline's girlfriend, was someone that the group held mixed feelings about. Sandra seemed to like her well enough, as did Thomas and Lily; Severus, Scott and Nicole on the other hand held quite a different opinion of the brash, and at times, crass, girl.
"Yeah. I think so. We wanted to go looking for her but Nicole didn't seem like a huge fan of that, so we decided to come straight here," said Sandra. "I take it that you and Severus had a…let's call it a productive afternoon?"
"Pretty much, although we can't stay for as long as we'd like to, Rosie said she wanted to speak with us later before dinner," Lily explained. At Sandra's curious-looking frown, she tacked on; "I don't know what it's about to be honest, all I know is that it's something that applies to both Sev and me."
"I think I have a hunch as to what it could be," Sandra hummed, her tone cryptic.
Lily, who was briefly distracted by Thomas executing a loop-de-loop on the opposite end of the field, then turned to face Sandra. "And what might that be?" she asked.
Sandra's gaze betrayed her intentions, briefly drifting past Lily to Severus and Nicole further along the bench who were chatting about something Potions-related. "Nicole told me she met with Rosie as well earlier, during her free period before lunch. Said something about a famous potioneer coming by next week to give a lecture. Since Rosie wants to talk to you and Severus, and that she's already spoken with Nicole as well…I'm willing to be it's about that."
"Did Nicole say who the potioneer is?"
Sandra shook her head. "No. Said that Rosie told her it was a surprise, don't know any more about it than that," she said regretfully. "Although…from the way Nicole's talking to Severus, I'm positive that she's telling him what I just told you right now."
Lily's brows rose in surprise, she shifted in her seat only to witness her boyfriend talking animatedly in return to Nicole, before he too noticed her prying gaze. Lily snorted and turned back around to face Sandra. "Well, it's clearly got Severus excited, and Merlin knows we could use a little excitement, this start of semester so far has been so boring."
Sandra threw Lily an odd look. "You'd rather we have as much work as we did the last semester, would that cure your boredom Lily?"
"Not that," Lily muttered. "I just meant…more excitement, y'know? At least we have the race next two weeks from now to look forward to."
"And the Worcester visit next weekend as well," Sandra added, Lily nodding in reply.
"Oi Nicole," Lily called out, turning around to face the girl in question. "About the guest lecture, did Rosie tell you when it was happening?"
"Next week, same as the Worcester visit, although it'll be on a Saturday so they won't conflict with one another," Nicole replied.
Lily hummed. "Hmm, alright…thanks for that."
Nicole opened her lips to reply, but the foursome were distracted as Tommy soared past them at speed on his broom. Their friend was truly coming into his own as a racer, performing excellently on both the oval and normal circuits in his first and second races. Now that he had a broom to match his talents, he was rapidly becoming one of the favorites amongst the racers not just in Horned Serpent House, but at Ilvermorny as a whole. The four friends all paused their conversations as they shifted their focus to Tommy, who was currently flying laps of the field as fast as his broom could take him. His three teammates watched on as the best flyer in the school put his broom through its paces and took each turn at breakneck speeds. Lily and Severus were awfully glad they'd made such progress on their work that they were able to watch their talented friend fly with swan-like grace. Nicole and Sandra on the other hand heaved sighs and turned their attention to their work.
Later that evening, they showed up to Professor Rosier's office where, sure enough, they were informed of a guest speaker coming to deliver a lecture next weekend, and that it would be about potions. For much of the following week, Severus' curiosity regarding the talk reigned supreme in his mind, with Lily's request very much taking a back seat to it in terms of immediate priority. Come Saturday, Lily and Severus both woke early in eager anticipation of the lecture later that day, their curiosity running rampant in the previous few days over who the speaker might be, and the material they may cover. Well before first light, Lily and Severus were awake, showered, dressed, and had their supplies for a day full of note-taking in their backpacks ready to go. They headed out of their dorm rooms while their roommates slept, careful to not wake them, and met up with Nicole in the Common room, who'd seemingly woken before them.
"Morning you two," Nicole called out softly, wearing a groggy smile.
"Morning yourself," said Lily and Severus.
"Your beau's not up yet?" Lily asked, her gaze lazily shifting between Nicole and Severus.
They both shook their heads. "No, he wasn't even back in the dorm when I'd gone to sleep, said something about practicing right up until curfew, I think," Severus muttered, Nicole nodded in agreement.
"Oh, well should we head to breakfast without him then?"
Nicole sighed and got to her feet. "Yeah, let him have his beauty sleep, otherwise he'll be as cranky as an Erumpent later on," she muttered.
Lily and Severus nodded in agreement, and the trio slowly made their way to the Meal Hall. Breakfast was a quiet affair, hardly anyone was awake save for their fellow students that'd signed up for the lecture. Severus, Lily and Nicole took their time with their food, eating slowly and discussing their thoughts on the lecture ahead of them and what they expected from it. Nicole informed the two of them that she intended to speak to the lecturer afterwards, provided they had the time of course. She was still on the hunt for a post-graduate program, and given how quickly potions mastery slots filled up in America, she hoped to secure her spot soon—sometime either this year or next. Whilst eating their breakfast and conversing on their expectations for the weekend ahead, their fellow students trudged into the Meal Hall at a snail's pace on tired legs. They finished off their meal just in time to see Thomas come in with Billy and John, all three of Severus' roommates giving Severus, Lily and Nicole tired-looking waves as they trundled past them to the table. Considering that Billy and John had stayed up late to wait for Thomas, Severus wasn't all that surprised that they were similarly tired to his friend.
"Let's get going guys, we can catch up with 'em later," Nicole said, trying to hurry Severus and Lily out of the Hall.
They both gave Nicole odd looks, but shrugged their shoulders and exited the Meal Hall at Nicole's behest. As they neared the Potion Lab No. 1, where the talk would be held, they converged with more and more of their fellow students who also shared an interest in potions. They spotted Luke Maynard and Veronica Barnett of Wampus and Pukwudgie house, two of Severus and Nicole's classmates in the private class in year six and seven respectively. They also saw Alice Xu, from Wampus House, also in Severus and Nicole's private class as the sole fourth year. Numerous other students who all shared an affinity for potions but weren't in the private class, like Lily, were there as well; leading Severus and Co. to be quite surprised at the turnout Rosier had gotten.
"Severus! Nicole! Lily! Come on over here!" Luke's friendly voice rang out to them.
They spotted the familiar form of their tall, blonde friend; standing next to whom were Veronica and Alice. Lily hardly knew Alice at all, by virtue of having dropped the class going into their fifth year, but from what Severus'd told her, she was a quiet and reserved girl, far quieter than anyone in their group at least. She'd only spoken with the Chinese girl on a handful of occasions, usually only in passing when she waited outside the Potions labs for Severus to finish his private classes. Despite being a year younger than Lily was, Alice was the same height as her at a proud 5'6", was willowy-thin but had rounded facial features and an a very genteel demeanor on the whole. Luke the sixth year, was considerably taller than Alice; taller than Severus, even, and with messy-blonde hair that hung forward over his forehead. Veronica, by contrast, was the shortest of the bunch, even shorter than the petite Nicole; and had wavy, chestnut-brown hair and an easygoing demeanor. Severus, Nicole and Lily all made their way over to their friends, weaving through the two-dozen other students that'd gathered for the talk.
"Hey there you guys, we were wondering when you'd show up," Veronica greeted jovially.
"We didn't spot you three at all when we were in the Eating Hall," Severus replied, nodding at his three fellow prodigies in turn, "Where were you?"
"I skipped breakfast personally," Luke said, rubbing a hand over his stomach subconsciously. "But eh, I figured I can just eat an extra-large lunch if need be. I'll be fine. You guys ate then?"
"Of course," said Lily, sounding affronted at the thought of skipping a meal.
"So, how long have you three been waiting here for?" Nicole asked, her brown eyes flittering to each of her fellow Potions aficionados in turn.
"Only five minutes ago, somethin' like that," said Veronica, who raised a hand to her mouth to cover a yawn.
"I've been here for about ten, same as Alice, we bumped into each other on the way here," Luke added.
Alice just nodded in agreement with Luke's words.
"I—um, I don't believe we've met, have we?" Lily ventured; her gaze fixed firmly on Alice. "It's nice to meet you, I was—um, I was Luke and Veronica's classmate last year," she introduced herself.
"It's nice to meet you too," Alice said in a shy voice. "Severus talks about you a lot. I—uh, I often work with him and Nicole in class. He's very fond of you," she added, her voice turning a little sage-like.
Lily allowed herself a smirk. "I should hope that Sev speaks highly of me, I am his girlfriend after all and I don't think he's the sort to drag my name through the mud."
Veronica laughed jovially and Luke released a series of chuckles, even Alice gave a tiny grin in response to Lily's words.
"Sayre…I've missed having you in our class Lily, you really were the life of the class, well, you and Francesca both were. It's not the same without you," Veronica said wistfully.
"I'm right here you know," Nicole huffed, glaring openly at Veronica.
"I value your presence too Nikki, don't you worry," Veronica replied with a kind smile. "You're far easier to work alongside than Lily is, she can be so distracting at times."
Lily gave an indignant-sounding noise, somewhere between a cry and a squawk that drew mixed reactions from the group. They didn't have much more time to converse however as the door to Lab No.1 swung open moments later, two dozen sets of eyeballs swiveling to it as Professor Rosier appeared in the frame.
"Good morning to you all, thank you for arriving in a timely manner," Rosier said in her crisp, business-like voice. She wore dark robes today, looking as though she'd somehow grown several inches and turning her stature positively imperious in the eyes of the students.
"Good morning, Professor," the assembled mass of students replied.
"Our guests are already inside, so now you'll file in quietly and help yourself to a seat, there should be enough chairs and stools for the lot of you," she said quietly, but firmly.
Without another word, she swept back inside in a cape of black, and was immediately followed by the two dozen students. Lily, Severus and Nicole were towards the back of the congregation, so they were amongst the last to enter the Lab, but upon entering, they were shocked to see two very familiar faces stood at the front of the classroom. The portly, stout frame of Alexander Barton was unmissable, neither was the slender, tall form of their old friend Francesca Marconi, now Barton's apprentice. To say that Lily, Severus, Nicole, Luke and Veronica were shocked to see them would've been a gross understatement. Alexander Barton was famous for almost never making public appearances, speeches, presentations and other things of the like. He much preferred to run his Apothecary in Wizarding Worcester and publish books whenever he had the time; So, the mere idea of him being dragged away from his Apothecary to give a lecture to a bunch of teenagers was astounding to Severus, Lily, and all the others there that knew him personally.
Severus, Lily and the rest of the lecture-listeners all found their seats and settled down in eager anticipation of what was to come. Before anyone spoke, Rosier waved her wand at the door as soon as the last student was seated, shutting it with a bang, and then waving her wand again to cast a locking charm.
"Good," said Rosier, sounding pleased. She turned to Barton and Francesca stood at the front of the class, wearing a fond smile. "Now that we're all here, let us give a warm welcome to our guest speaker, MACUSA Medal of Service Award Winner, and Potions Master Alexander Barton; as well as his apprentice, the first he's taken on in ten years, Francesca Marconi."
The class erupted into polite applause, the sound of clapping filling the room for a polite fifteen seconds; long enough that it showed their due appreciation for Barton's presence, but also short enough to not be absurd.
As Barton waved his hand to settle them down, the clapping died a quick death and the legendary Potions Master stepped up to the front of the elevated podium. "Thank you all for your warm welcome," he said kindly. "As I'm sure most of you are aware, I don't give many of these lectures, so I do hope you use your time here efficiently and effectively, your professor had to call in a massive favor to entice me to come here in the first place, so do give her your thanks."
The amassed students chuckled quietly, many offerings of thanks to their stoic Potions Professors spilling past their lips from each of the students.
"Now, onto the real meat and potatoes of why I'm here," said Barton, garnering the attention of everyone in the room. "I am here, to educate all of you, on how to become successful potioneers regardless of if you wish for it to be your profession, or merely a hobby your indulge in from time to time. I know that not all of you are part of Esmerelda's private class—" Barton's eyes briefly drifted to Severus, Lily, Nicole, Luke, Veronica and Alice; who were seated at the back of the class, "—but I do know that all of you here share an affinity and love for Potions. I have high hopes that you will take my lessons I have to share with you today to heart, and that you put your best foot forward in the coming years as brewers, and in all other facets of your life."
Barton then paused, stepping back from the front of the podium slightly to gesture to Francesca, who had been stood behind him and off to his side. "Francesca here, embodies some of the qualities I value when I search for prospective potioneers to guide and nurture along their journey," he went on.
"Yeah, she's got boatloads of money, and I'm sure her looks when she's manning the front desk bring in loads of customers," Luke snickered quietly, earning a nigh-silent chuckle from Severus, who was sat next to him.
"Does that mean you've got a crush on her Luke?" Severus whispered quietly, his brow arched in speculation. "I mean…I wouldn't necessarily blame you, I do see your point, she is quite…what's the word…shapely."
Luke barely managed to cover up his wheeze into a raspy-sounding cough; but even then Barton's gaze darted towards him for a brief moment.
"Some of the things that are important when it comes to brewing, are pushing the boundaries, taking risks, innovating beyond what exists in current texts and expanding your knowledge. Francesca, embodies this to a tee, and if you all can too, then you'll be all the better for it," said Barton.
Francesca was all of the things Barton had claimed. She was known as a streaky brewer, and back when she was a seventh year and Severus and Lily were brand-new fourth years to Rosier's private class; she'd sometimes turn out world-class level brews, and other times her cauldron would explode in her face. It wasn't all that rare an occurrence for Severus and/or Lily to outperform Francesca, turning in a better brew than their classmate who was three years their senior; but her innovation meant that when she was pushing the limits and on her game, her prowess was unmatchable. That, Severus and Lily supposed, was what Barton meant; that Francesca's ability to push herself and her brewing and her willingness to make mistakes in order to learn from them was what made her special as a brewer in his eyes, her wealth aside.
Severus embodied some of that too, if he chose to play things safe and to merely follow the recipe, he'd often be matched by Lily and Nicole who would be doing the exact same things that he was. But when pushing his knowledge to the limit and not being afraid of making mistakes, he was running the risk of completely cocking-up his brew, but with the reward of making something truly special that neither Lily nor Nicole could hope to match. At the end of the day, that was what differentiated himself from Lily, at least within the Potions lab. Severus' willingness to push limits and take risks, which upon reflection seemed awfully Gryffindor-like of him, was what made the difference between a supremely-talented brewer, Lily, and a world-class brewer, Severus.
For the next hour, Barton prattled on about how brewing was by its very nature, a volatile art and that aggressive expansion of knowledge was an inherent aspect of its study. Pushing limits and furthering one's knowledge was what brewing was all about, and it was something that Barton stressed made the difference between great and extraordinary potioneers. He then went on to talk in more detail about his career as a brewer, how he made a name for himself by experimenting and not being afraid of documenting in failures and mistakes in print for all to see. His relatable journey, a flawed one chock full of mistakes and set-backs was what garnered him fame in the eyes of the wizarding public, so that when he hit it big and starting making some bona fide breakthroughs in the world of brewing, his success was that much sweeter. Despite not being known for his speaking skills, and his general dislike of giving lectures and the like, his audience were hanging off of his every word—Severus and Lily included.
Francesca had her turn speaking soon after that, sharing with her classmates her own journey as a brewer and how she'd reinvented herself from being a careful, studious potioneer who always stuck to the rules, to someone not afraid of making mistakes and learning through said mistakes.
At just shy of eleven o'clock, Barton concluded his lecture with a series of well-wishes and expressions of good-luck to the prospective brewers that'd gathered to hear him speak. At the lecture's conclusion, the students began filing out of the classroom, but Nicole had other ideas. Her jaw set firmly, she marched away from her friends against the tide of the crowd towards Barton and Francesca as they prepared to floo back to Worcester. Severus, Lily and the rest of their group paused in the doorway as Nicole crossed the lab.
"Looks like Nicole's got her eyes set on something," Veronica murmured as she watched Nicole walk right up to Barton.
"Sure looks that way, but that's Nicole for ya," Luke chuckled, shaking his head in amusement.
"I say we leave her to it, from the looks of things, she's gonna take a while," said Severus, as Nicole eagerly began chatting away to the elderly potioneer.
Severus and Luke shared a worried grimace as they hear Nicole's voice increase in volume from the other side of the room. They quickly made the decision to vacate the lab, the rest of the group following suit, leaving Nicole behind to interrogate Barton—and probably put him off giving lectures for life in the process.
As it would turn out, Lily and Severus were shocked to learn that Nicole's badgering of Barton had actually earned her an audience with the legendary potioneer come their next Worcester visit, which was occurring on literally the very next day. Lily and Severus were already planning on stopping by Barton's apothecary as it was, so they said they'd accompany Nicole when she went to meet him. When they reunited at the Portkey come the end of their excursion, Severus and Lily were pleased to hear that Nicole's meeting with the potioneer had gone well, and that he'd been surprisingly receptive to her questions. When they left Worcester that day, Nicole was about as happy as her friends had ever seen her, leaving the rest to wonder just what it was she and Barton had spoken about that lead to her surprising uptick in mood. Whatever it was, they could all agree on that Nicole's usually sour demeanor could definitely use more of it.
A/N2: Next chapter's been difficult to write/execute, so my next update on this fic might be a while away. I hope you enjoyed the chapter!